My child’s room is the most functional it has ever been. And I, well I am a functioning mess. Until a few days ago, my daughter’s room was that baby room that we all dreamed of. Her room housed a beautiful white crib with frilly pink sheets and the changing table with a soft pink mat. The ultimate baby girl’s room.
But suddenly, my baby isn’t such a baby anymore. It seems like she went from preemie to a preteen overnight. For sure she has many years to go before puberty but in just a few short years things have changed so much. She went from little to being in the 97th percentile for height. So my two year old looks more like a four year old. She’s outgrown just about everything including her crib and changing table.
There are many cues that parents can follow to determine when it is the right time to transition a child from the crib to a bed. Generally speaking most parents transition their kids to the “big kid bed” when they are between one and three years of age. Children who have been potty trained also are usually ready for a bed. This will create ease with their need to go to the bathroom during the night. Children such as my daughter who are over 36 inches in height are usually ready for a bed as well. The same goes for children who are adventurous climbers. This is more about safety than maturity. Taller children and climbers can fall or even jump out of a crib.
And let’s just say that I’ve got a jumper. After hearing the words “Mama watch” and seeing my baby plant a foot and prepare to jump that was the not so subtle cue that it was time to get her out of a crib and into a big girl bed. It would seem that the transition for our family would be a simple one. In reality my ultimate baby room was barely used.
I turned half of my bedroom into a nursery to make it easier for me to care for my preemie when she was born. And what was supposed to be a short term solution turned into a every night solution. Her room was more for show and for play. But now it’s time.
Now that her room is a big girl room she wants to spend more time there. She requests to go into her room and loves her new big girl bed. Her room is functional finally. I was prepared for transitioning her but I forgot to prepare to transition me. When my husband asked me to hand him a screw for her new bed he turned after he didn’t get a response to find that he needed to hand me a tissue. Saying good-bye to her crib felt like I was saying good-bye to her baby years. The transition from a crib to a bed is a big development in the life of a child and in the life of parents. Both need time to make the adjustment.
